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Group Support Systems: Past, Present, and Future

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Handbook of Group Decision and Negotiation

Abstract

Group support systems (GSSs) (and group decision support systems (GDSS)) first emerged as a promising field of research in the late 1980s – three decades ago – and the field has benefited from considerable development since these preliminary research endeavors. Initially focusing on harnessing technology to increase meeting effectiveness and efficiency through the provision of features such as anonymity, simultaneity, and data structuring through models, the field has expanded its profile and remit. This has been achieved through taking cognizance of theories and concepts from a range of different disciplines (e.g., information systems, operational research, engineering, negotiation, and management, to name a few) along with developments in technology and is illustrated through exploring the genesis and evolution of five specific GSSs. Given an increasing appetite from decision makers to find approaches for managing complex problems in an inclusive and sustainable manner, there is clear scope for further development in the GSS field through extending the problem types addressed, widening application arenas, incorporating new modeling approaches, and further capitalizing on new technologies.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    A chauffeur is a technical facilitator focused solely on operating the GSS.

  2. 2.

    The literature review was conducted using Scopus and Google Scholar databases. Search terms included the name of the group support system, related synonyms, and common authors associated with that system. Inclusion criteria for the literature review were documents in the form of books, edited books, peer-reviewed journal articles, and conferences written in English after 1990. Documents included must have had at least one of the search terms in its abstract to be read further.

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Correspondence to Fran Ackermann .

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Ackermann, F. (2021). Group Support Systems: Past, Present, and Future. In: Kilgour, D.M., Eden, C. (eds) Handbook of Group Decision and Negotiation. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-49629-6_47

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